Violent Acts Against LGBT People

in the United States

Matthew Shepard

In The Transfeminist Manifesto, Emi Koyama states, “It is our belief that each individual has the right to define her or his own identities and expect society to respect them. This also includes the right to express our gender without fear of discrimination or violence.” However, LGBT people are often subjected to violence caused by cultural, religious, or political biases which is defined in the United States as a ‘hate crime.’ Simply explained, a ‘hate crime’ is when an individual is victimized because of their race, ethnicity, religion, gender, or sexual orientation.

James Byrd

 Hate crimes often happen because the perpetrator is homophobic which is a negative attitude or feeling toward people of the LGBT community. Koyama states, “Homophobes tend not to distinguish between gays and trans people when they commit hate crimes, but trans people are much more vulnerable to attack because they are often more visible than gays.” In the U.S., the first act against hate crimes was signed into law by President Bush in 1990.

Some of the crimes against the LGBT community include harassment, vandalism, robbery, assault, rape, and murder. The perpetrators come from a variety of social and economic backgrounds committing these crimes anywhere from dark streets, school campuses, and even inside gay bars and other establishments. The majority of the most violent acts have been found to be committed most often by younger males ages 21 or younger.  According to FBI statistics, in 1999 there were 1,317 different reported incidents of violence based on sexual orientation. “Of those, anti-male homosexuality violence characterized sixty-nine percent of the incidents.”

An expansion of the laws to help protect people of the LGBT community, The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, was signed into law by President Obama in 2009. This measure was enacted to include bias-motivated hate crimes based on a victim’s actual or perceived gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability. This act was named in honor of Matthew Shepard and James Byrd who were viciously murdered 15 years ago.

 

Website references:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_violence_against_LGBT_people_in_the_United_States

http://www.svfreenyc.org/survivors_factsheet_28.html

http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/lgbt/news/2013/10/31/78518/4-years-later-                           examining-bias-motivated-crimes-against-lgbt-people-after-the-shepard-byrd-act/